Racket and ball game



p 1969 A. J. MINSHULL ET AL 3,468,536

RACKET AND BALL GAME Filed Aug. 29, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.l.

Fig .7.

' L 52 so INVENTORS Man J. Minshull, Marilyn A. Minshull, Glenda A.Minshull 8| Sept. 1969 A. J. MINSHULL Em. 3,468,536

RACKET AND BALL GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 7;

Filed Aug. 29. 1966 Allen J Minshufl Marilyn A NinshuH,

Glenda A Minshull & James B. Mmshul! United States Patent 3,468,536RACKET AND BALL GAME Allen J. Minshull, Marilyn A. Minshull, Glenda A.Minshull, and James B. Minshull, all of Box 175A, Rte. 1, Mercer, Pa.16137 Filed Aug. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 575,791 Int. Cl. A6311 67/04 US. Cl.27330 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a game apparatus, thecombination comprising means for delineating a generally rectangularplaying area, relatively low divider means extending transversely acrosssaid playing area and midway between the ends thereof, a ball adapted tobe propelled from one side to the other side of said divider means,rackets for so propelling said ball, the diameter of said ball being asubstantial proportion of the width of each of said rackets and of theheight of said dividing means. The divider means can be in the form of aplurality of edge-abutting planar members. The playing area can befoldable. Preferably, the ball has an initial rebound characteristic of40-50% of the drop height.

The present invention relates to a novel racket and ball game, and moreparticularly to a game of the character described which can be played ina relatively small playing area and which plane exhibits ballisticcharacteristics of such nature as to be enjoyed by young and old alike.

There are many games or sports played with a ball struck by a racket orthe hand of the player, which utilize a divider such as a net todetermine proper and improper ball returns. Many of such games orsports, however, require a considerable amount of expensive equipmentsuch as is employed in outdoor lawn tennis, badminton or volleyball.These and other outdoor games and sports, moreover, usually requirerelatively large playing areas and thus involve considerable expense ingrading and in laying out the necessary playing area or courts. In thisconnection, it should be pointed out that the great majority of privatedwellings are lacking in sufficient total land area or in sufiicientlevel lawn areas to accommodate such large playing courts.

In addition to the aforementioned outdoor sports and games, there are anumber of similarly played indoor games such as table tennis orPing-pong. However, such games require specially constructed anddimensioned tables therefor which are usually inconvenient to assemblefor use and diflicult to disassemble and store when not in use.Moreover, the procurement and maintenance of such table-mounted gamesare both expensive and dif- Among the aforementioned and similar knowngames and sports, none is adapted for playing both indoors and outdoorsas desired. Moreover, the courts of the aforementioned outdoor games andsimilar games cannot be readily moved when once laid out or installed.Owing to the size of the necessary table for Ping-pong and the like, thelatter game cannot be readily moved from room to room within a dwellingor from indoor to outdoor areas.

We overcome these difficulties of the aforementioned and otherconventional games and sports by providing a racket and ball game whichcan be played with equal facility either outdoors or indoors and on anytype of relatively hard surface. Moreover, our novel game requires onlya relatively small playing area and thus can be readily set up ordelineated upon any type of floor surface or area within a privatedwelling or upon a porch, patio, base- 3,468,536 Patented Sept. 23, 1969ice ment floor or lawn area which is frequently provided in conjunctiontherewith. Our novel game is played with a relatively small racket, arelatively large ball in comparison thereto, and a relatively lowdivider or net. The bounce and weight characteristics of the ball aresuch as to preclude the necessity of using relatively large court areas.On the other hand, the ballistic characteristics of the ball are suchthat the game can be played with a playing area or courts at floor orground level so as to obviate the requirement of special playing tablesor the like.

The ballistic characteristics of the ball in relation to the racket andcourt surfaces enable our novel game to be played either relatively fastor relatively slow, as desired, with the result that the game can beenjoyed by all age groups.

Specifically, the configurations of the playing area or courts, theheight of the divider or net, and the sizes of the rackets and ball donot preclude smaller children from playing and enjoying the game. Inrelation to known games and sports, for example, young children are notprevented from playing our game as is the case of tennis and badmintonwith their relatively large and heavy rackets, or in the case ofvolleyball with its large and heavy ball, or in the case of table tennisowing to the height of the playing table, or by the height of the net asin volleyball or badminton, or by the large size of the playing court asin volleyball, tennis and badminton.

The playing field or courts of our game are of a size that they can bereadily laid out or delineated with masking tape or the like upon anyrelatively smooth fiooor surface found in most homes. The relativelylarge, light weight ball employed with our game exhibits the slowingcharacteristics of a badminton shuttlecock for example, and thus isincapable of causing damage if misdirected during playing of our game ina relatively confined location. The size and shape of the playing courtis such that the same can be delineated also by usage of commonlyavailable sizes of plywood, hardboard, fiber board (such as Celotex orHomasote) or the like to form the playing court for either outdoor orindoor usage.

During the foregoing discussion, numerous objects, features andadvantages of the invention have been alluded to. These and otherobjects, features and advantages of the invention will be elaboratedupon during the forthcoming description of certain presently preferredembodiments of the invention together with presently preferred methodsof practicing the same.

In the accompanying drawings, We have shown certain presently preferredembodiments of the invention and have illustrated certain presentlypreferred methods of practicing the same, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of one form of playing court and dividermeans utilized in conjunction with the game of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, and elevational view of the divider means shownin FIGURE 1 and taken generally along reference line II-ll thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, partial side elevational view of the dividermeans shown in FIGURE 1 and taken along reference line III-III thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a ball and racket utilized in playing thenovel game of our invention, and showing generally the relative sizesthereof;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the ball and racket illustrated inFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of another form of playing court anddivider means arranged in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 7 is an end elevational view illustrating the folded position ofthe court structure of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is an isometric view of still another form of playing court anddivider means arranged in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of the game structure of FIGURE 8 in thefolded position thereof;

FIGURE 10 is an isometric view of the game structure of FIGURES 8 and 9illustrating a partially folded position thereof; and

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged, partial, isometric view of the game structureof FIGURE 8 and illustrating a portion of the net and binge arrangementthereof.

During the forthcoming detailed description of the novel game disclosedherein, certain dimensions will be employed with reference to componentsof the game equipment. Such dimensions are given only to serve toillustrate the relative sizes of the game components and are nototherwise limitative of the invention or of the specific sizes of suchcomponents. Moreover, it will be obvious that, depending upon givenplaying conditions, as desired by individual players, that the relativesizes of the game components also can be varied as required.

With reference now more particularly to FIGURES 1-3 of the drawings, anexemplary playing court and divider means are illustrated therein. Inthis arrangement of the invention, the novel game is provided with aplaying area 10, which is delineated by pairs of longitudinally andtransversely extending tapes 12 and 14 or other suitable marking means.In a typical layout, the markers 12 and 14 can be formed from suitablepressure-sensitive tape, which is applied to a wooden, steel-floatedconcrete, or tile floor or other relatively hard and smooth surfaceprovided either indoors or outdoors. Other suitable marking means suchas a chalk stick or chalk line can be conveniently employed, and aredesirable for use on less smooth surfaces such as wooden-floatedconcrete, or asphalt surfaces.

The playing area 10 is divided transversely into equalsized playingcourts 16 and 18 by divider means indicated generally by referencecharacter 20, which are positioned intermediately of the ends of theplaying area 10 and parallel to such ends. When thus arranged with apair of playing courts 16 and 18, the game is played by two players insingles play. The game can be arranged for one form of doubles playinvolving individual service courts by further dividing the playing area10 longitudinally as denoted by chain line 22 to form a pair of doublescourts 24 or 26 on each side of the divider means 20.

The playing area 10, in this example, is about twelve feet in length andbetween five feet and eight feet in I width. Thus, the singles courts 16and 18 are each about six feet in the longitudinal dimension and betweenfive feet and eight feet in the transverse direction of the playing area10. On the other hand, the doubles courts 24 and 26 are desirably of thesame longitudinal dimension but desirably are each about four feet inwidth.

With reference now to FIGURES 1-3 of the drawings, an exemplary form ofthe divider means of the invention will now be described in detail. Thedivider means 20, in this example then, includes a divider strip 28,which 'co-extends in length substantially with the width of the playingarea 10. Desirably, the strip 28 is fabricated from a relatively thin,solid, planar material, such as plywood or hardboard. The divider strip28 is conveniently supported upon a plurality of standards 30 with foursuch standards 30 being employed in this example for reasons discussedbelow. It will be obvious, however, that the number of standards orsupports can be varied as long as the necessary support for the dividerstrip 28 is provided. In one supporting arrangement of the divider strip28, the latter is mounted in transversely extending slots 32 formedrespectively in the supports 30, as better shown in FIG- URE 2 of thedrawings.

In the disclosed arrangement of the invention, the divider means 20 isprovided with a total height of about one foot, which conforms to theballistic characteristics of the ball described below when used with theaforementioned floor surfaces and with the relatively small sized racketstructure also described hereinafter.

The divider strip 28 itself is, of course, less than the total height ofthe divider means 20 so that it can be supported conveniently by theslotted supports 30 without unduly weakening the latter. As better shownin FIG- URE 2, a space 33 remains between the lower edge of the dividerstrip 28 and the adjacent surface of the playing area 10. The space 33does not interfere with playing of the game, since the fact that theball goes over or under the divider strip 28 can be readily ascertained.Desirably, however, the space 33 is greater than th diameter of the ballto permit delivering the ball by rolling from one court to the other, ifdesired, when not in play.

The dividing means 20 thus are arranged to stand freely upon the playingarea 10, although suitable fastening means, if desired, can be providedto secure the uprights 38 to the playing surface. To promotefreestanding, the supports desirably are tapered downwardly andoutwardly for at least part of their lengths, as shown in FIGURES l and2. To facilitate mounting and aligning the dividing means 20, a lengthof tape or a chalk line or other suitable marking can be extendedtransversely of the playing area 10 midway between the ends 14 thereof,as indicated by chain line 37. When being mounted, the divider strip 28can then be intially and easily aligned therewith. Moreover, thealignment of the dividing means 20 can be periodically checked duringthe progress of a game, particularly when the dividing means 20 areprovided in the free-standing form as shown.

For convenience in shipping and storage, the dividerstrip 28 desirablyis divided into two or more sections with three such sections of equallength being illustrated in this example. Thus, for a playing field 10of about eight feet in width, the divider strip 28 can be subdividedinto segments 34, with each segment being about two feet and eightinches in length. The divider strip 28 thus is supported at its ends bythe endmost supports 30a respectively and at the junctions 36 betweenits segments 34 by the intermediate supports 3% respectively.

With reference now to FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings, exemplary racketand ball structures for use with the game are illustrated. The ball 38is shown as lying on the racket structure 40 in order to denote therelative sizes thereof. In a typical example, the diameter of the ball38 is about 40% of the minor diameter of the racket striking surface 42,which in this example is eliptical in contour. In this case, thestriking surface 42 is substantially planer and is provided with handgrip 44 of circular cross-sectional configuration. In a specificexample, the striking surface or plate 42 can be provided with a minordiameter of about 6 inches and a major diameter of about 7 inches can besurfaced with a sheet of pebbled rubber or plastic (not shown) or othersuitable frictional material. The striking plate 42 can, of course, beprovided with geometrical or non-geometrical configurations than othersshown as long as the relative sizes of the ball and racket aresubstantially maintained.

Desirably, the ball is fabricated from a light-weight plastic or othersuitable material with an overall density desirably in the neighborhoodof 2-4 pounds per cubic foot with 2 /2 pounds being preferred forrelatively hard playing surfaces. In order to conform the ballisticcharacteristics of the ball 38 with the relative sizes of the racket 40,the divider means 28, and the playing courts 16-18 or 24-26, the ball 38is provided with a resilience such that when dropped from a height ofsix feet, it initially rebounds to a height of from 2 /2 to 3 feet. Aconvenient material from which the ball 38 can be fabricated is anexpanded bead polystyrene plastic of ready availability:

The diameter of the ball 38 for most playing arrangements desirably isbetween two and three inches and, continuing the specific example of theinvention, is about 2 /2 inches. The ball, therefore, is a substantialproportion of the width of the racket 42 and of the total height of thedividing means 20. In particular, the diameter of the ball 38 can bevaried between about /3 and about /2 the width of the racket and betweenabout and about A of the total height of the dividing means 20, toobtain a proper relationship of the ballistic characteristics of theball 38 with the sizes of other components of the playing equipment andwith the size of the playing field. More specifically, the diameter ofthe ball 38 lies in the neighborhood of 30% of the width of the dividerstrip 28.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 7 of the drawings, another arrangement ofthe invention for forming and delineating the playing area 10' isillustrated. In this arrangement of the playing area 10', the latter isformed from a foldable or separable structure 46, which in this exampleincludes a number of plywood or hardboard sheets, 48, 50, 52 and 53 withthis arrangement utilizing four such sheets, of suitable shape, so thateach extends transversely of the playing area 10, laid side-by-side. Thedivider means 28 is supported at the junction between the intermediatesheets 50 and 52 and extends generally parallel thereo. The playing area10' can be divided into singles or doubles playing courts in the mannerdescribed in connection with the playing area 10 of FIGURE 1. The sheets48, 50, 52 and 53 can be hinged together as described below for foldingor alternatively the sheets can be separate and merely laid side-by-sidein edge contact, as desired. The foldable or separable playing structure46 is particularly adaptable for providing a requisite hard playing area10' upon a relatively soft surface as an outdoor lawn or indoorcarpeting.

In a specific example of the last mentioned arrangement of the game,each of the sheets 48, 50, 52 can be fabricated from plywood or ahardboard such as masonite, or for the purpose of slowing the gameslightly, at relatively softer fiber board such as Celotex or Homasotecan be employed. In general, any relatively hard sheet material can beemployed which is capable of maintaining its planarity. The sheets 48,50, 52 and 53 can simply be placed side-by-side in the relationshipshown in FIG- URE 6 without further connection, or alternatively, theycan be hinged together as shown in FIGURE 7 to facilitate folding andstorage. When so hinged, one of the junctions, for example the junction54 (FIGURE 6) can be provided with hinges 56 on the playing surface ofthe sheets, while the other junctions 58 (FIGURE 6) can be provided withhinges 60 on the bottom surfaces of the sheets in order to provide aconvenient zig-zag folding arrangement. With the arrangement, only thehinges 56 are exposed on the playing surface, and the latter hinges aredisposed in an out of the way location generally beneath the netstructure With reference now to FIGURES 8 and 9 of the drawings, thereis illustrated another foldable playing field structure 62 suitable foruse with the game disclosed herein. In the latter arrangement of theinvention the foldable structure 62 is composed of four sheets 64, 66,68 and 70 of one of the relatively hard surfaced materials describedpreviously. In a specific example of the game structure 62 the sheets64-70 can be fabricated from plywood or the like of a thickness whichcan be varied depending upon the hardness or firmness or evenness of thesupporting surface. For example, plywood of minimal thickness, e.g., ofthe order of or A inch can be utilized where desired for most indoorsurfaces, or for lawn areas which are exceptionally smooth or even.

Continuing the specific example of the foldable structure 62, each ofthe sheets 64-70 can be commercially available 4' x 6' sheets of plywoodor the like, with the individual sheets extending longitudinally of theplaying field and thus delineating individual playing courts 24' and 26,as noted previously in connection with FIG- URE 1.

The longitudinal junction 72 between sheets 64, 66 and 68, in thisexample is secured in a foldable manner by hinges 74 secured to theundersurface of the sheets so as not to interfere with the playingsurface. On the other hand transverse junction 76 between sheets 64, 68and 66, 70 is foldably secured by a number of hinges 78 and 80. In apreferred arrangement, the hinge pins or the like of at least thosehinges 78 between one longitudinal pair of the sheets, for examplesheets 64, 68 are removable to permit the complete folding of the gamestructure 62 to a size equal in plan to one of the sheets, as bettershown in FIGURE 9. vVhen in the playing position as shown in FIGURE 8,the hinge pins, presently to be described, are inserted to secure theadjacent portion of the transverse junction 76 and when folding thestructure 62 the hinge pins are removed to permit severance of thehinges 78.

Although the hinges 78 and 80 are mounted on the playing surface of thegame structure 62 the location of the hinges 78-80 and the transversejunction 76 directly beneath the net structure 20' does not interferewith playing the game, as noted above with reference to FIG- URE 6.

When folding the game structure 62 from the position as shown in FIGURE8 the game structure 62 is first folded along its transverse junction 76as denoted by arrows 82 of FIGURE 8. Then, as better shown in FIGURE 10,sheets 64 and 68 are folded back along the adjacent portionsrespectively of the longitudinal junction 72 and against theundersurfaces of the sheets 66 and 70 respectively as denoted by arrows84 and 86. The latter folding action is accomplished after the hingepins of hinges 78 are removed, which permits the component parts of thehinges 78 to separate as the folding is commenced, as better shown inFIGURE 10.

When the playing field structure 62 is completely folded, as shown inFIGURE 9, a desirably U-shaped hinge pin 88 is inserted through thespaced hinge components 78a and 78b of at least one of the hinges 78 inorder to retain the folded structure 62 in its folded position foreither shipping or storaging purposes. As shown in FIGURE 9 the legs ofthe hinge pin 88 are inserted respectively into the spaced, pivotportions of the hinge components 78a and 78b, respectively. The U-shapedcor1 figuration of the severable hinge pins 88 also facilitates graspingthe pins 88 when inserting and withdrawing the pins relative to thetransverse severable hinges 78.

Referring now to FIGURES 8 and 11 of the drawings, it will be seen thatthe U-shaped hinge pins 88 desirably serve a dual function. Thus, whenthe game structure is in its unfolded or playing position as shown inFIGURE 8 one leg of each hinge pin 88 is inserted through the nowjuxtaposed hinge components of each transverse hinge 78 in order tofoldably secure the adjacent portion of the transverse junction 76. Theother leg 90 of the hinge pin 88, as better shown in FIGURE 11, isinserted into an aperture 92 or other suitable pin-receiving means ofthe net structure upright or standard 30 which in this example isnormally disposed adjacent at least one of the severable hinges 78. Infurtherance of this purpose the leg 90 of the hinge pin 88 can be madecorrespondingly longer than the other leg which is inserted through thepivot portions of the hinge components 78a and 78b. In like manner, asshown in FIGURE 8 the remainder of the standards 30' can be positionedby U-shaped hinge pins 88 which are similarly inserted into respectivelyadjacent hinges 78 or 80 of the transverse junction 76. When employed inplace of conventional hinge pins the U-shaped hinge. pins 88 of thehinges 80, which need not be severable are desirably left in place whenthe game structure 62 is folded.

The net assembly 20" otherwise can be constructed as describedpreviously.

When playing the novel game and using the novel equipment disclosedherein, in singles play, the serving player stands beyond the end line14 of his respective court 16 or 18. He then drops the ball 38 onto thesurface of the court 16 or 18 and on its first bounce bats it over thedivider strip 28 with his racket 40. If the ball 38 hits or fails to goover the divider strip 28, or fails to drop within the opposing court 18or 16, his opponent scores a point. The ball 38 must be returned by hisopponent on the first bounce and bounces once in the servers courtbefore being returned. The players are free to move in and out of theirrespective courts 16 and 18, except when serving. The serving playercontinues to serve until a total of five points are scored whereupon hisopponent becomes the serving player for the succeeding five serves.After any one player receives fifteen points, the players change courtsand continue playing. The first of the players to receive twenty-onepoints is the winning player.

When playing doubles, the play is conducted in the same manner with theexception of the service, when using the courts 16 and 18. The servingplayers partner drops the ball 38 onto the court 16 or 18 and theserving player bats the ball on the first bounce. Each player must inturn return the ball 38 over the divider strip 28. Failure of the ballto pass over the strip 28 or failure of the proper team member to returnthe ball in the proper manner results in a point for the opposite team.The serve is rotated between teams every five points with the teammembers alternating in serving.

When playing doubles as set forth above, the singles courts 16, 18 canbe used and each serving team member in his turn can serve the ball tothe opposite court without restriction as long as it bounces within suchopposite court. On the other hand, the doubles courts 24, 26 can beutilized, with one of such courts being assigned to each player. Servicein such case is diagonally across the divider strip 28 from one of thecourts 24 to the diagonally opposite one of the courts 26 or vice versa.Each player when serving must then stand behind that portion of the endline 14 adjacent his assigned court. When the ball is volleyed betweenthe teams, i.e., in play between serves, the ball 38 can be returned toeither of the opposite doubles courts 24 or 26, but must be returned bythe proper team member in his turn.

In either doubles or singles play, hitting the ball 38 before itbounces, even though it would have otherwise landed outside of theproper court, results in a point for the opponent.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a novel, interesting,inexpensive and conveniently playable game and game structures have beendisclosed herein. While we have shown and described certain presentlypreferred embodiments of the invention and have illustrated presentlypreferred methods of practicing the same, it is to be distinctlyunderstood that the invention is not limited thereto but may beotherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of thefollowing claims.

We claim:

1. In a game apparatus the combination comprising means for delineatinga -generally rectangular playing area, relatively low divider meansextending transversely across said playing area and midway between theends thereof, a ball adapted to be propelled from one side to the otherside of said divider means, rackets for so propelling said ball, thediameter of said ball being a substantial proportion of the width ofeach of said rackets and of the height of said dividing means, saiddivider means being formed from an elongated planar substantially solidstrip extending transversely of said playing area and supported in aplane substantially perpendicular thereto by a number of supportingmembers, said divider strip being sub-divided into a plurality ofsegments thereto, said segments being supported in planar and tandemlyabutting relationship by a number of said supports having slots thereinfor engaging said divider strip, one of said supports being disposed ateach pair of juxtaposed ends of said segments, and a pair of saidsupports being disposed at the free outer ends respectively of theendmost ones of said segments.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the diameter of saidball is about A to /2 of the width of each of said rackets and between/6 and A1 of the total height of said dividing means.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said ball has a densityof about 2 /2 pounds per cubic foot and an initial reboundcharacteristic of about 4050% of the drop height.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said ball is fabricatedfrom an expanded bead polystyrene material.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the diameter of saidball lies in the neighborhood of 30% of the height of said dividerstrip.

6. In a game apparatus the combination comprising means for delineatinga generally rectangular playing area, relatively low divider meansextending transversely across said playing area and midway between theends thereof, a ball adapted to be propelled from one side to the otherside of said divider means, rackets for so propelling said ball, thediameter of said ball being a substantial proportion of the width ofeach of said rackets and of the height of said dividing means, saidplaying area being delineated by means including a plurality of sheetsof a relatively hard material capable of maintaining its planarity, saidsheets being disposable in aligned edge-to-edge relationship, saidsheets in addition being generally rectangular and extendinglongitudinally of said playing area, hinge means mounted on theundersurface of said sheets for hingedly securing the longitudinaljunction therebetween, additional hinge means mounted on the playingsurface of said sheets for hingedly securing the transverse junctiontherebetween, said additional hinge means being disposed beneath saiddivider means, those transverse hinge means disposed between alongitudinal pair of said sheets being severable, removable hinge pinmeans for said severable hinge means to permit complete folding of saidsheets, at least one of the removable pins being shaped for insertion ofportions thereof respectively into a pair of component parts of at leastone of said severable hinges, said hinge parts being spaced in thefolded position of said hinged sheets, whereby said sheets are retainedin their folded position by said pin means.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said divider meansinclude a plurality of supporting uprights, at least one of saiduprights being disposed adjacent said transverse hinge means and havingpin-receiving means therein, said pin-receiving means being spaced abovethe bottom surface of said upright a distance approximately equal to thecombined thickness of said sheets in their folded position, and saidhinge pin portions being insertable respectively into said pin-receivingmeans and into the pivot portions of said adjacent transverse hingemeans.

8. In a game apparatus the combination comprising means for delineatinga generally rectangular playing area, relatively low divider meansextending transversely across said playing area and midway between theends thereof, a ball adapted to be propelled from one side to the otherside of said divider means, rackets for so propelling said ball, thediameter of said ball being a substantial proportion of the width ofeach of said rackets and of the height of said dividing means, saidplaying area being delineated by means including a plurality of sheetsof a relatively hard material capable of maintaining its planarity, saidsheets being disposable in aligned edge-toedge relationship, said sheetsin addition being generally rectangular and extending longitudinally ofsaid playing area, hinge means mounted on the undersurface of saidsheets for hingedly securing the longitudinal junction therebetween,additional hinge means mounted on the playing surface of said sheets forhingedly securing the transverse junction therebetween, said additionalhinge means being disposed beneath said divider means, those 2,665,9081/1954 Gray 27330 X transverse hinge means disposed between alongitudinal 2,744,291 5/1956 Stastny et a1. pair of said sheets beingseverable, removable hinge pin 3,015,132 1/1963 Bunting. means for saidseverable hinge means to permit complete folding of said sheets, saiddivider means including a 5 OTHER REFERENCES plurality of snpportinguprights, at least one of said ph Sportill" Goods Dealer April 1962 vol127 No rights being disposed adjacent said transverse hinge means 1 Page218 and having pin-receiving means therein, and said hinge pin sporiingGoods Dealer April 1962 vol 126 No means being shaped for insertion bothinto said adjacent 7 p 218 hinge means and into said uprightpin-receiving means to 10 POSIUOI1 sald one upnghfi ANTON o. OECHSLE,Primary Examiner References Cited T. BROWN, Assistant Examiner UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Us CL 2,163,456 6/1939 Youngberg 273-30 15 273-61

